Mourinho almost made me retire from football at 24 – Dele Alli opens up

Everton midfielder, Dele Alli has claimed he almost retired from football at 24.

Alli was playing for Tottenham Hotspur at the time under Jose Mourinho.

During his time at Spurs, the 27-year-old clashed with Mourinho who dropped him and labelled him “lazy”.

The infamous training ground exchange between Alli and Mourinho was featured in the Amazon All or Nothing documentary about Tottenham’s 2019/2020 season.

Alli has now revealed in an interview with Gary Neville on The Overlap that he checked into rehab for six weeks this summer after becoming addicted to sleeping pills.

He told Neville: “Probably the saddest moment for me was when Mourinho was manager, I think I was 24.

“I remember just looking in the mirror – I mean it sounds dramatic but I was literally staring in the mirror – and I was asking if I could retire now, at 24, doing the thing I love.

“For me, that was heartbreaking to even have had that thought at 24, to want to retire.”